Since broadband Internet access can be provided across telephone (DSL), cable, and electricity lines, it's probably no surprise that a new technology is being introduced to transmit the signal across natural gas lines. The technology, branded Broadband-in-Gas (BiG), would allow for a terabit wireless link to the “last mile.” Plus, wireless radio signals would be contained within the natural gas infrastructure, allowing for retasking of Ultra Wideband (UWB).

Nethercomm Corporation's vision is to deliver video, Internet, and voice using the BiG technology, which the company thinks will be capable of 40-100Mbps once fully developed. There have been no trials or working products yet, but Nethercomm sees the technology's greatest advantage in its ability to access an unlimited private spectrum, since the signals would be transmitted through a grounded conduit.

BRIAN'S OPINION
Wireless technologies are limited in that you can't step on spectrum already owned by someone else; however, if you pass wireless signals through a grounded conduit such as a natural gas line, you have unlimited access to the entire previously inaccessible spectrum. Not a bad idea at all.

The concern then becomes whether such a technology is commercially viable. Those who don't have access to DSL or cable broadband would be most interested. Sure, satellite technology has always been an option, but it comes with a lot of limitations.

Using existing infrastructure is a good way to bridge that gap. It's also a good way to ensure that electricity utilities don't have an edge on natural gas utilities when it comes to the ability to provide broadband.

USER COMMENTS 59 comment(s)

Early warning(12:27pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)So I guess if you've been paying your bill, you should start to run if you cant light your stove while trying to check your email. The joint's gonna blow. - by gmorningdave

BUT…(12:27pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Places that don't have access to broadband by other means probably don't have gas lines either. Gas is usually associated with cities, where numerous broadband options are already widely available. I want to see a way of getting broadband to say…the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. - by Terminally Cranky

this technology is not practical, for(12:36pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)i can only pass gas periodically. besides, that would irritate my fellow customers at Starbucks. - by no gas

Not practical…(12:52pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)I agree with Cranky. I'd like to see them get broadband into my house via the propane tank.

The only thing that really makes sense to me is a connection over the power lines. They are the only thing other than phone that goes to my house. Sure, I could spend a few thousand and get cable run down my driveway, but that isn't really viable, either.

Same with nat gas. I could probably spend 10K and get gas to the house, too, but I think I'll pass. - by

Gas(1:01pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Maybe laughing gas…

Why not over my electrical line, or my water line, or my phone or cable.

How many people want to have my 40 bucks a month?

Is someone looking to start a loss division this is it.

I hear a big FART - by Bean eater

Stop (1:02pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Messin' around with stuff that everone knows won't manifest, and dump it into wireless. Its the only real soluion for peopel that live in east bumblefunk. - by Terminally Cranky

Keep it up!(1:11pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)I warned them of the pollution heating up the earth 5 years ago. Now the super storms i warned them of are here.If pollution isn't brought under control the earth will still be here but humans wont.Final warning' do something,you have about 15 years left. - by G9

Very probably will work(1:13pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)

The guy who's behind this technology has received several industry accolades for his contributions and research. The natural gas lines allow for an ideal conduit. The gas is densely packed, under pressure, and is surrounded by a type of wave-guide (the steel pipe). By using high-power UWB transmissions, this could very seriously become a reality.

You should read more on the man before you jump to conclusions about whether or not it will work. He seems to have the credentials and his idea makes practical sense.

re G9(1:18pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Don't blame everyone for not listening.we see the temps changing where i live.but we have a pollution president and theres no one stepping up to stop it. - by Tree Hugger

Wireless?(1:20pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Maybe I'm missing something but how can they call this wireless when you are passing the signal down a gas pipeline? The pipeline would be the wire, right? Will there be a physical connection from the PC to the pipeline? - by please explain

Sounds great and I'd use it in a second if it cost less and (1:31pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)I got 40Mbs. If the gas company set up it's own ISP, they could compete against cable and force them to lower prices. The cable company makes me pay $45/month, while new customers get $15, because they never lease their lines, so no competition. My neightbors have jumped ship to Net* dsl (dish), but I can't do without 5Mbs down, 512Kbs up anymore. - by tech

Read the proof(1:51pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)

I just read the proof and I don't think its cost/benefit seems feasable in my unprofessional opinion. They say to can go over existing gas lines, but they have to have consistent waves going through the pipe for peak efficiency.

If the pipes are all always the same then yeah, okay. If they are not then how do they determine where in the line is the signal breaking down? Will they need repeaters for the places where the pipes are different? How much does that slow it down and further complicate the system?

Would changes in temperature change the pipes enough to put the signal completely out of attenuation?

They then have to find customers who have no other access to any other broadband, but have natural gas piped to their homes.

This is a texbook an example of niche marketing if I ever saw one. Why do this when we have WIMAX coming soon? Impressive technology and speeds though..- by Geekzilla

“The natural gas industry is indeed making extensive use of plastic natural gas pipelines which are of course spectrally transparent to us. Nethercomm literally broadcasts into the private spectrum contained in the natural gas pipelines (metallic or non-metallic) so while a grounded metallic pipe makes our signal propagation laughably simple. The natural gas pipelines are also conveniently buried as such we can transmit with sufficient power to easily traverse the plastics without interfering with any external transmissions.”

In other words, it works great with metal pipes, but since the pipe is buried it should work with plastic too.

Not too convincing. Sometimes, the pipe isn't buried, such as when it runs in the crawl space of a house or in a garage. All you need is one single air exposure anywhere in the gas pipeline. Then this high power UWB signal is going escape into the air and will blast away, causing all kinds of illegal interference.

This is fun sounding idea, but it is completely vaporware at this point. Interesting research. but I won't be looking at it to my house any time soon. - by skeptical

mark2c(2:06pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)

Steel only rusts because of something called electrolysis. If you install something called “cathodic protection”, and couple that to a coating which goes on the pipe, then the rust damage to steel pipes can be all but eliminated. They have done research on pipes coated with various materials which were put into production and left in the ground for several decades to find out that the steel was in almost perfect condition even after all that time.

And, because steel pipes are made of steel they are:1) Easy to install and repair2) Relatively inexpensive considering their exceptionally long life3) Very strong (providing their long life underground where there is constant seizmic activity stressing back and forth against the structure)

- by RickGeek

Gas is just the beginning(2:12pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)I'm working on Broadband thru wood burning stoves and fireplaces. I started this project when I realized my last project (broadband thru coal fired stoves) was silly. - by unknown

hmmm(2:16pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Nice idea for a back bone to remote comunities just off a pipeline.It does sound intreging. I went to fix a farmers PC about ten years back. he had a second PC in the barn and had it was wired from his house to the fence and then off the fence and into the barn.so to simplify the network picture, it was BNC/Coax to barb wire and back to BNC/Coax….??it worked. so go figure? if it can push data use it. - by EGadz

New Technologies Everywhere!(2:26pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)I have been expounding on early McKenna work from mushrooms and found that you can receive broadband across the quantum of space/time through the steady use of hallucinigens, saving incredible infrastructure build-out costs while containing your entire network within the frameset of the single human mind! My new mental intra/internet allows the user to for-go ALL cost entirely and still have high speed access to information!Imagine, no ISP, no need for new wiring, just a slight chemical upgrade to your existing mental structure and the world is yours'! - by FriedLines LLC

re FriedLines LLC(2:58pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005) FriedLines LLC/ take care in awaken the mind with hallucinigens,its like seeing the universe for the first time.you may not make it back to your sane dillusions. that your mind has been programed to accept. - by Tim Leary

no way — never going to happen(3:10pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Wireless is the future, standards like WiMax and even newer faster ones will crush anything that requires a connductor.

Silicon technology has made digital radios dirt cheap. A present day WiFi chip goes for ~$10 and that price falls every 3 months.

Metal in the ground means maintainence cost, which are huge if their is any digging involved. One mishap with a posthole digger and the entire nieghborhood is down while they get a crew out digging in your backyard for most of a day. Probably a mutli-$1000 maintainence event.

Plus, plastic pipes are also the wave of the future, especially for flammible materials like gas.

This is just a cheap palor trick. What's next, broadband internet over railroad tracks??? - by no way

re Wireless(3:41pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Hope your companys don't bump into the U.F.O.s they use the same mode of travel.it's called jumping. - by G9

re DHS-WatcheronWelfar(3:46pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)How do we know your not the Chinese Spy!trying to get the light off yourself. - by And More

NO(4:21pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Just say no'to expensive broadband you dont need it.unless your downloading hugh files like movies or music full cds which is against the law.if your not a pirate you dont need broadband.fact is computers in general are a waste of time and time is all you really should value. - by Toss it

yeah(6:05pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)f*** computers… - by f***Uall

yerah(6:12pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)but hey, work in general is a waste of friggin time so screw it, use computers to waste time, its fine. Movies are a waste too, laughing is bull. I dislike comedies, and I dislike cheap lessons presented to me by millionaire babies with small phalices and stupid ideas.- by tis true

yerah(6:13pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)A few artists of the past understood what it was to be human, its pretty much been forgotten due to the purchasing power of the masses. In the past only a few elite members of society could purchase art, and they were largely wise enough to understand that some artists should be loved for the sake of their art, no matter what the results of the artists labors were.

Now, joe blow who drinks bears and screws sheep determines what goes on TV by tuning in every damn day and buying Chevy trucks cuz theyre LIKE A ROCK.in short, screw you all, screw art as well, screw science, medicine, all thought that is not infinite in its contemplation of the universe. - by tis true

yerah(6:14pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)you cannot change things, or ever really understand them, so dont bother. Everything science creates is a variation of itself, nothing really new, just variations on old themes, complications of an existing structure made more accurate because of its added complexity not because of understanding

- by tis true

yerah(6:15pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)by the way, none of you deserve to read what I write, and most of you deserve to be in whatever hatefull, spitefull hell you have found yourself in today… Besides, many of you have probably convinced yourself that you like it in your little hell.- by tis true

yerah(6:16pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)By the way, the world is not as real as you think it is. Its not even 3D. The world of 3D is an illusion according to Quantum Mechanics.

nothing about the physical world is real or determinable. Its a pathetic twisted disreality that should be avoided at all costs. - by tis true

yerah(6:17pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Why is everything so far away???

What is a quasar??

Quasar, quasar, quasar.. Oldest objects in the universe, emitting more energy than can be comprehended except as a number, a possibility. But just writing a number does not signify comprehension. Again, because the physical world is illusory.

we are all lost, maybe the quasars are where we must go to escape this prison, but, how to get there?? - by tis true

yerah(6:20pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Science cannot and will not answer all questions. Once we are connected to the hypercube, philosophy will be the driving force of our creativity. science will be underlying everything but will be assumed. The same way you assume the ground is under your feet when you walk.- by tis true

re.tis true(7:43pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)One mans hell is another mans heaven.you can be sure where you been but not sure how you got there.as for the ground under your feet. its there now but blink your eyes and its gone and so is everything else inclueing you. - by R.I.P

That's nothing!(8:11pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)I hear the next best technology is having broadband over clotheslines! - by Give me a break!

re:Give me a break!(8:34pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Where the hell do you live this is 2005 theres no clothes lines anywhere. - by Cold Piggies

Broadband via Fido(8:57pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)An ew technology is coming around the bend called WiFido.WiFido is where everyone in your neighborhood that owns a mutt has a little little beanie cap to wear.Each beanie cap has a little box that (Fido) or whatever his name is is linked wirelessly to many other WiFidos in the area creating one huge WiFido network.The idea is similar to File-sharing.Each Wi-Fido is sharing a little bandwidth that little bandwidth is added to other Wi-Fidos in the area to create a stronger network.Soon everyone will be able to link up with rover–or fido and surf where ever they go with out having to depend on a Wi-fi area encompassing only sevral hundred square feet.With Wi-Fido you can surf continuously without area blackouts.Where ever there is a Fido or a rover there is Wi-Fido.Bow-Wow Dude !!!!! lol :-) - by Rover all over

BIS(9:15pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)We have patents pending over Broadband in Sewage. This highly technological form of broadband uses the waste plumbing of your house to transfer humongus amounts of…(things)data right out from your bathroom. Our goal is to improve the crapy service you have today.our slogan is: “smells like money to us” - by smellslikemoneyforus

B.I.G, oldschool(9:55pm EST Mon Nov 14 2005)Really, how long will it be before we have broadband wireless to brain implant, bypassing keyboard input, and Video output entirely. I'm not switching until that comes around - by reallywired

Microwaves tend bounce and bend fairly well, but they also like to concentrate and emit off sharp points. RF arcing and flammable gases just donít seem like a good mix.

I am not far from a fairly dense apartment complex and I'm still the only one using WiFi 802.11a. Now b/g are thick with folks. If there is a problem with bandwidth, it isn't because of lack of allocated space. Folks aint using what is already available to the full extent, not even close.

OK, I just don't like pumping high energy RF into a flammable gas. Now when we get rid of natural gas, fill the pipes with nitrogen and try this idea again.- by Zeke

when we get rid of natural gas(12:52am EST Tue Nov 15 2005)we'll have a whole lot more shit to worry about than broadband - by raionz

watchout(1:25am EST Tue Nov 15 2005)London – British scientists have warned that global warming is melting polar ice caps in Antarctica much faster than previously thought, it was reported on Wednesday. Experts from the research body British Antarctic Survey believe that the rise in sea levels around the world caused by the melting may have been under-estimated. Vast ice blocks were slowly collapsing into the sea off Antarctica, increasing the threat from the rising level of the world's oceans, the scientists said. - by Tree Hugger

I have this vision(6:00am EST Tue Nov 15 2005)As Zeke said above, for some reason when i first read this all I could see was explosion, the physics of it say it is very very unlikley, but however in britain they make you turn off your cellphone in petrol stations… again seems unlikely anything would ever come from using a cellphone in a petrol station but i believe its similar physics.

On the other hand this method will give higher connection speeds…. you never know… crazy drunken Dave who sits in the corner saying random things in the Nethercomm Corporation might have come up with a good idea… - by Gez

Broadband iN Water Pipes!(6:40am EST Tue Nov 15 2005)Yeah thats' the ticket! That and incorporating the States' and giving each taxpayer/shareholder a cut of evrthin we loot from the rest of the Earth! When done there is Mars Moon and Beyond! - by ImperialismWorked

damnit(7:14am EST Tue Nov 15 2005)the neighbors house blew up..

NO HALO2 FOR A MONTH!

worst idea EVER

well almost as bad a satellite broadband… - by ggg

yerah(8:27am EST Tue Nov 15 2005)Do not mistake me, technology is leading us somewhere, but, science and technology will serve philosophy in the future. Are you incapable of seeing how technology has limits in the physical world??? That ultimately all technological, and physical science problems will be solved??? If you cannot see that then you are not worthy of this world, return to your mothers womb and lay there sleeping forever.

Scizophrenia… If quantum mechanics turns out to be wrong, are the people who believe in it INSANE???

Some religions believe that the physical world IS illusory, is it a coincidence that quantum mechanics is finding the same???

I do not believe in hugging trees, or even trying to save the environment, it will save itself when it needs too.- by tis true

Broadband(9:07am EST Tue Nov 15 2005)Bad idea,until it can be proven that there is no interference to other users in the entire radio spectrum. This could be another BPL fiasco that creates wide band interference.